Governor not in RTI ambit? Court asks for affidavit

The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court Monday asked the Goa governor to state on oath that he, the president of India and speakers of state assemblies have no executive powers and duties, giving them a shield against the transparency law.

The division bench of Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice F.M. Reis issued the direction to Additional Solicitor General Vivek Tankha, appearing for the Goa governor.

Tankha earlier said that the governor, the president and assembly speakers did not come under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The court was hearing an appeal of the Goa Raj Bhavan against the state chief information commissioner’s (CIC) ruling earlier this year that the office of the governor was a public authority covered under the transparency law.

The Raj Bhavan said the governor was not a “public authority”.The governor’s office contended that the Goa State Information Commission had not been properly constituted and that the CIC could not have heard the matter in the absence of another information commissioner.